Bardock
| JapName=バーダック| RomName=Bādakku| AniName=Bardock| AltName=Barduck| MangaName=Burdock| CanonTo=Anime| FirstApp=TV special Bardock - The Father of Goku| Race=Saiyan| FamConnect= Goku (son) Raditz (son) Chichi (daughter-in-law) Gohan (grandson) Goten (grandson) Videl (granddaughter-in-law) Hercule (son-in-law) Pan (great-granddaughter) Goku Jr. (great-great-great-grandson) Ox-King (brother-in-law)}} Bardock (バーダック Bādakku), is a character in Dragon Ball Z. He is widely known to audiences around the world as Bardock due to his exclusive introduction in the television special, Bardock - The Father of Goku. It was only after the special first aired in Japan on October 17, 1990,[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/dbz-bardock-the-father-of-goku Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku synopsis and review] that Bardock was given a brief cameo in two panels of the manga by Toriyama, who helped design the character for Toei Doga's theatrical production.Character designs at http://www.daizex.com/ It is interesting to note that this was the first time in Japanese history that a fictional character would be shown in a manga after being created for the anime as filler material.Archived discussion on the character's unique origin from anime to manga His name is a pun on "burdock" (バードック bādokku), an herb. While Viz Media's manga use "Bardock", and FUNimation Productions' Japanese-language English-subtitled anime also use "Bardock",FUNimation's anime name in the Japanese audio with English subtitles on the DVD special the FUNimation English anime dubs use "Bardock".DVD cover art Some Japanese merchandise even use "Barduck".[http://www.dbzcollection.fr/barcode/cartes/barcode3/images/96_jpg.jpg Dragon Ball Z Super Barcode Wars card name] Nearly all Saiyans are named using English-language vegetable puns. Bardock's name (Bādakku) is pun on "greater burdock", a type of root vegetable. In English, the pun is either rendered directly as "Bardock", as the Japanese "ā" is often used to represent both pronunciations. History The biological father of Kakarot (Goku on Earth) and Raditz, Bardock is a low-class Saiyan mercenary that leads a small group comprised of four others (Toma, Fasha, Panbukin and Totepo); who, like all Saiyans, travel in groups from planet to planet to conquer them by clearing the planet of its inhabitants for a high price, only on the orders of the tyrant king Frieza. While on a mission, he is given the gift of precognitive foresight by an inhabitant of a planet he and his team conquered (this "gift" actually being a curse from this warrior as revenge against Bardock), and collapses shortly afterwards. During rest and recovery, he is suddenly overtaken by futuristic visions in his mind and witnesses the destruction of his home Planet Vegeta by the hand of Frieza. While still recovering, it is mentioned by his doctors that his battle power is just reaching 10,000, and may become stronger than King Vegeta.Power level estimated by observing doctors in the specialGradually, Frieza had feared the increasing power of Bardock and his team, and orders Dodoria to slaughter the five-man squad on their next mission. After Bardock finds out that his teammates had been betrayed and murdered by the orders of Frieza, he vows to avenge his fallen comrades and is suddenly assaulted by Dodoria's Elite. Being able to kill off the entourage, Bardock is overpowered by Dodoria, and left for dead. He survives, almost barely, and desparately struggles against time to change his planet's grim fate. He begins by warning some of the people of Planet Vegeta about Frieza's plan; none gave ear to his attention, and simply thought that he was in way over his head. Seeing no way as to convince anyone, Bardock takes it on his own by attempting to fight Frieza head on, not just for his planet's sake, but to avenge those he killed. He ultimately fails at stopping Frieza's rampage on the planet and is killed, along with the rest of the planet's inhabitants, by Frieza's attack. Moments before his death, he has a vision of his son, Kakarot, challenging and defeating the warlord which brings a smile to him, his only regret is that he never had a chance to hold Kakarot as a baby in his arms. Manga The author, Akira Toriyama, liked the character enough to insert him in a volume of the manga in two separate panels. When the character of Frieza notices a resemblance between Goku and "the Saiyan who resisted until the end". Narrated text confirms that the Saiyan that Frieza killed many years ago was Goku's father. In the first chapter of DBZ manga, Bardock is alluded to when Raditz comments Goku looks just like his father. Name Bardock's name is, like all other Saiyans, a pun on a plant. In this case, the vegetable "burdock". The word "burdock" transliterated into katakana is "badokku" (バードック, bādokku), but the character's name is written as "badakku" (バーダック, bādakku), changing the 'do' character to 'da'. This character change actually makes the kana sound more like "Bardock" to English speakers, making it difficult to accurately romanize the word to show the pun. The word could be romanized as "Burdock", "Barduck", "Badack" or any combination of those syllables. Special Abilities * Riot Javelin: A blue ball of ki that Bardock used in an attempt to stop Frieza. * Heat Phalanx: A heated ki punch. (Only used in the Budokai and Shin Budokai series.) Voice Actors * Japanese Dub: Masako Nozawa * Ocean Dub: Paul Dobson * FUNimation Dub: Sonny Strait Video games Bardock appears as a playable character in several Dragon Ball Z video games such as: Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (with Great Ape form), Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (with Great Ape form), including the upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road. In the video game Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors 2, Bardock can be selected as a support character. Sources * Taken directly from the anime special Bardock - The Father of Goku and manga chapters. Notes and references Category:Characters who can fly Category:Full-blooded saiyans